


Neter Ankh

by RainieDeForest



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adventure, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Egyptian Deities, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Headcanon, Historical References, Magic, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-15
Updated: 2016-01-31
Packaged: 2018-05-14 00:43:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5723158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainieDeForest/pseuds/RainieDeForest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[English version of 'Necher Anj']</p><p>Miraculous Ladybug's AU<br/>In the distant lands of Egypt, at the time of the first pharaohs, two young lovers destined to a future of pain will see how their lives will be subject to the god's capricious threads. Will they be able to learn how to endure all the power that involve Sekhmet's charms? A fight against time to defeat destiny, wich cannot be their only problem.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Serket-Heru's box

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh gosh... I'm a little miraculous trash, you know?  
> I don't even know how this idea came out (well... I have my suspicions xD) but... here it is.  
> Only to say that this is an AU because we don't take our principal heroes in the beloved Paris and because the story it's bassed on a crazy heacanon that I will love to share with you but... today's not the day xD  
> So... before you start reading, I want to clarify two things:  
> 1\. The human names that I have given Tikki and Plagg (because yes, here they are humans) are, respectively, Netikerti (egyptian woman name wich means 'the one wich is excellent') and Aswad (egyptian male name wich means 'black/dark').  
> 2\. It has historical references... A lot... But I will explain at the notes of the end.  
> Hope you enjoy it! :) You can throw me tomatoes if you don't xD
> 
> PS. I'm from Spain so my first language isn't the english. Sorry if there are some (a lot) of mistakes x'D

_2580 BC_   _  
Memphis, ancient Egypt_

The first sun rays impacted hard on the temple of Hathor, bathing the white stone walls with colorful motifs and figures. Ra, the great, had returned from his underground trip on the lands of the dead, bringing a new day to the lives of the egyptians. Netikerti walked through the gardens of the main temple prepared to begin her daily chores. Her white linen dress was dancing around her long legs as she moved swiftly. Her small breasts remained covered with the wide straps of her dress and from her back a beautiful leopard skin was hanging. A small red tissue covered part of his white dress as a symbol of her priesthood to Hathor.

The light taken esmerald shines from the leaves of the palms, gently lengthening their shadows over the land of ocher and red tones. The young  _sa_ , enjoying the little walk before starting her routine, caught a glimpse of one of the secondary wives of the previous Pharaoh Sneferu and mother of the present pharaoh, Hetepheres. The woman was admirable; her long black hair had white pearl jewelry woven into the strands of her hair, her skin cleared up thanks to the dust brought out perfectly outlined eyes with kohl, her eyelashes and eyebrows painted in deep green and full lips, in vermilion.

She was wearing jewelry throughout the body, each more beautiful than the last, highlighting her status as mother of the pharaoh. She wondered if she knows the creator of such beauties, but soon she pushed those ideas from her mind to greet the woman as it was disposed.

"Good morning, ma'am. Ra is giving us a beautiful day, don't you think?" the young woman whispered with a faint smile. She was sure that the queen would refuse to answer her, she never did, but that didn't mean that she, like Hathor's  _sa,_  doesn't show her education.

The woman gave her a serious look for a few seconds before nodding with the head and continue her way to the  _Jeneret House_ , the 'house of beauty'. She had finished her morning walk. Netikerti shrugged with a smile painted on her lips before entering into the temple. The building remained inside the grounds of the royal palace, next to the  _Jeneret House_ , where many of their dwellers came to pray to the patron goddess. Not for nothing she was the goddess of music and dance, activities that they were studying to improve.

The bigs oil lamps remain off, large ritual bowls with metal legs, allowing that natural light was coming slowly through the openings in the walls that served as windows. This imperfect light lengthened the shadows of the objects such as columns, creating sinuous images of which many children would run away scared.

The sound of her papyrus sandals was cushioned by the soft, almost ethereal, of her steps against the cold marble floor. Netikerti stayed in silent as the imposing statue of the goddess welcomed her from above of the pedestal, carved in the finest stone. The  _sa_  couldn't help but admiring her. Every day she thanks the gods for being able to serve her. The goddess watched with cold eyes all and each one of her movements as the girl could not help but admire her simple and smooth hair that falls until the birth of her bare chest, the long skirt that was born from her waist and the striking headdress that was composed of a large solar disk and one uraeus —the sacred cobra worn by the pharaohs as protection, representation of the goddess Uadyet— wich stood with kingship on her head.

Hathor was the nurturing goddess of love, of joy, dance and musical arts. She dedicated to the goddess her life since she was eight years old, aged in which she happened to replace his mother, also a  _sa_  and a concubine of Pharaoh Sneferu, who died in the birth of her little brother, fruit of the marriage of her mother with the actual scribe of the pharaoh. And now she was seven years at the temple.

Netikerty kneels in front of the statue of the goddess and, spreading his hands on both sides, closed her eyes, ready to begin her prayers. She will ask for the fertility of the Great Royal Wife, for the women of Egypt, for the joy of the people did not disappear and that she bathes with her gifts to all the young people who began their education in the  _Jeneret House_. She will ask for all of them, because the blessings of the goddess fell on all the women of the kingdom.

“Look what broughts Ra with the new day.”

 _‘It cannot be’,_  thought Netikerti, letting her lips free a deep sigh. There was only one person who had so little respect for her work as to sneak into the temple at that hour of the morning, that spoke with that mocking and disinterested tone. And, unfortunately for Netikerti, she knew him too well.

“Aswad”.

The boy grinned before continuing.

" _Netikerti, which is distinguished by the excellence of hers forms, who has been as created by Isis. The most beautiful of all the women of this land and its borders_ " said, leaning casually on one of the columns decorated with large reeds. He watched the graceful and delicate figure of girl get up from the ground and turned, walking to him with a delicate rustle of her skirt. "It should be a sin that you exist."

"Have you finished with your gabble?" she asked in almost a whisper, shortening the distance between them to within a few inches. "The gods will punish you for telling such lies. And me for being a fool, for listening to them.

Aswad's laughter rang in the ears of the  _sa_  hard, like the strings of a harp at the climax of a song.

"I think the gods will forgive me, and they will praise, if I decide to cover my future wife with with some praise indisputable." Netikerti narrowed her eyes and shook her head, tired. She doesn't want to do that, not again. "What?"

"Aswad, I have not even accept your marriage proposal. What makes you think this time will be different?"

The boy left to rely on the column and slided a hand around her waist, pulling her body and increasing his amusing expression.

"Because you find me irresistible and cannot live without me" his brilliant smile could compete with the sunshine, with the beautiful jewelry that he created. The girl laughed defeated before to receive a kiss from the boy on the cheek. A thousand of tickles aroused in her stomach. Even if she wanted, she couldn't be angry with him. "I will go this afternoon to talk to your father, so we can sign the document and we can live together."

Before Netikerti could answer, a group of  _sa_  went into the temple and looked curiously at the young people who were hiding in the shadows of the columns of the temple. The girl took his hands from her waist, somewhat embarrassed by the image that she had just given to her companions, and looked him seriously with her dark blue eyes.

"Aswad, please, don't make it harder. Why do you keep insisting?" she asked flustered. She wasn't liking the direction that this conversation was taking. "You know that being who I am I cannot marry with anyone and the Pharaoh must give his approval.

"The king didn't have to consent to the union of Anjeset and Jafra and both are now happily married."

Netikerti looked away and bit her lip.

"It’s not the same. Both were of the same social ladder" the girl reminded him. Better tell him that have to admit aloud that he was the illegitimate daughter of the former pharaoh with a concubine. It was not something for her to be proud, as might happen to other women.

The boy frowned and slightly turned away, hurt. It was clear that he hadn't thought about the truth behind her words. Netikerti took the time to observe him better. His white shenti was perfectly tied at the waist, with a gold braided leather belt, revealing his turning and brown bare chest. A small pendant with a turquoise scarab shining in the middle of his torso competing in attention with his dark, straight and short hair to the chin.

In his green eyes shone the disappointment and anger, two feelings that danced in tune with a frown and the tension of his full lips, the same who had stolen some kisses from hers. It was clear that the words of  _sa_  hadn't done him any grace. And it hurts Netikerti have to remind him; it hurt having to be she who had to bring him back to the ground and it hurt her be the reason for the disappointment and disillusionment that plagued his entire body. It wasn't her decision at the end; if she was, long time since she has gone with him.

"Aswad..." began the  _sa,_  trying to take his hand fondly. The boy jerked away and shook his head.

"It doesn’t matter. I will not bother you anymore. Have a good day" he whispered making a small bow, before turning around and leaving the temple. Not matter how many times Netikerti called him to explain the situation, to try that things don't remain between them as they had done, with him angry and hurt... But all was in vain.

With a sigh, she turned her eyes to Hathor and looked the human face of the goddess, with sorrow and regret.

"Great lady, why does everything have to be so complicated?"

 

*~*~*

 

Aswad left the temple as fast as he could. He didn't want to be any longer in the presence of Netikerti, He couldn't; she was an eternal reminder of the pain that imprisoned his heart, as if someone had stuck a red-hot dagger. What she had said was true, a truth as a temple; she was the daughter of a pharaoh, she belonged to the highest aristocracy, while he was a humbler class, even though his father worked directly for the actual pharaoh. Their union had to be accepted by the royal scribe, the man who had married the mother of Netikerti and was the legal guardian of the girl, and the current pharaoh, to whom she share blood. Although, in the depths of his being, he still believed that the pharaoh shouldn't comment on anything.

Unless…

No. Netikerti hasn’t accepted any other proposal of marriage, she couldn't, right? They would not have given her to another man, no? He would take revenge on anyone who wanted to take away from him his precious  _sa_. He had preference, known her for longer and had shared with her things that others would not achieve or in their wildest dreams. With an almost guttural growl, and trying to erase those ideas from his mind, Aswad went to the studio where he worked as an apprentice.

His father works directly for the pharaoh creating the most beautiful jewelry for him and his family, along with other items such as furniture, pots and anything else that the pharaoh wanted. It was a great position with a big responsibility which, when his father died, Osiris and Anubis not claim him too soon; happen to pass to his hands. And Aswad believed he wasn't prepared to do so. He does not even like make jewels.

Perhaps Netikerti had rejected him because he hadn't even a salary as Ra commanded. How would he keep her? How he could get a house for both?

"You're late. Again" his father chided without looking away from the pectoral necklace shaped like an Oujdat, the eye of Horus that can guarding from death, disease and the evil eye. It was a unique piece of gold, carved and painted with red, green and blue glazes. A real piece of art, something that Aswad, much as he would like to, never be able to done. Therefore he, at his seventeen, was still an apprentice, because with his hands shatter everything he touched.

"It will not happen again."

"Where were you?" The silence of his son made him shake his head. "You must stop the Hathor's  _sa_  haunt. You have no longer five years" Aswad walked to his desk and watched the diadem which took him more than six months of work. As an apprentice, he didn't work in commissions made directly to the pharaoh, but could work on parts for the sake of getting more practice. And he did it. He was leaving his soul in that headband that he wanted to give to Netikerti to show his appreciation.

"I don't think you need to worry. She has declined my proposal another time."

The bitter tone of his voice made Kefren leave the pendant in which he was working to approach to his child.

"And what did you expect?" he asked, taking the crown with his hands and looking at it. "First obtain the permission of pharaoh; I remind you that she is his half-sister, and then your mother would have to go to make the proposal to the nearest woman of her guardian" Kefrén passed his fingers through the diadem and nodded. "Good work " he said. "Clearly, when you want, you do the things in the right mode. You will be a good heir..."

He didn't finish the phrase. But both of them knew what he meant.

Aswad looked again the headband. Of course, it was one of his best works. A golden circle divided into eight equal segments in where rested the ornaments made with the greatest of the cares. In each segment there was a rose of gold and bright lapis lazuli, bordered by petals made from these stunning turquoise encrusted around the disk of carnelian.

To each side of the rosette, there rested horizontally small representations of the beautiful lotus of Upper Egypt, like those erected vertically to separate each segment. To complete the beautiful ornament, a vulture with outstretched wings was carved in a gold sheet, right in the center of the crown, representing the beautiful Mut, with small stones of obsidian as eyes.

How much he would like to see Netikerti wearing it, such a beautiful crown in possession of the most beautiful woman in the kingdom of Egypt. It would be like a dream come true. It would highlight on her dark, straight hair cut; and he knows that it would make her look like a goddess. And also, he knew it wouldn't be more than dreams because the  _sa_  will never accept it as a gift. Aswad watched his father finished the pectoral necklace and roses it to contemplate it. But then, he had an idea. Maybe if he gave her anonymously...

 

*~*~*

 

Like it occurs whenever his father Kefren finished a commissioned piece, the next destination was the palace of pharaoh. His father would perform the same routine; he would check that the pendant didn’t have any defects, he would take a piece of silk and wrap in the pendant with great care before storing in a black lacquered box. Otherwise, the pharaoh wouldn’t accept the pendant, even if it had been his custom.

However, at his seventeen, he had never been in the presence of God on the earth. This would be the first time he will accompany his father to submit a request. And that was enough to have him on his nerves. He didn’t even know what had happened into his father's head at the moment he ordering Aswad to go with him.

The road to the palace was eternal for him, especially when passing in front of the temple of Hathor and the Jeneret House, buildings in which the presence of Netikerti was so strong. And, as they passed through the halls and the eyes of the guards were following them, his nervousness only increased. The beating of his own heart reached in his ears, harassing.

He will never forget how he felt to be in front of the pharaoh. When both fell —his father and him—, he had the feeling that whole Egypt was watching him. The pharaoh's eyes were fixed on his back with the power of a thousand deadly spears, relentlessly.

Aswad held his breath when he felt something touched his bare arm and, thank the gods, he didn’t look up. If he done it so without having received the approval of the pharaoh, his head would have been ceased to be attached to his body.

“I see that Tiy deposit her trust in you” a sweet female voice rang in the ears of the young man before a laugh wrapped around the throne room.

“Hush, dear sister” spoke a more serious and authoritative male voice. “Kefren, if you're here it's because you've finished my order” a few steps were enough to know that the pharaoh had got up. “And it seems that you didn’t come alone. Arise.”

When Aswad slowly got up and saw the pharaoh, he was surprised to understand what his eyes were beheld. The pharaoh was only a few years older than him and, although he seemed to have nothing in particular in his physical that could make women find him attractive, he knew that the aura of power around him was enough to attract them. An aura of power that accompanied to the perfection a pair of eyes devoid of life; his eyes were the most coldest and distant of the world.

Behind him was an attractive woman around the age of pharaoh Khufu. She was richly dressed in white, with a linen dress and transparent gauze covering her shoulders and arms. The queen, Meritites I. Besides her, were two maids, each with a small child in her arms, and a black fur cat that walked quietly around the room.

There was another male figure in the room; the royal scribe, the guardian of Netikerti. The seriousness of the man hinted that he wasn’t someone given to the nonsense and if ever he knew that he had been haunting her daughter... Well, gods protect him.

“Yes, my god” said Kefren showing him the box and handed it in silent ceremony.

The pharaoh opened without even taking it from the hands of the craftsman and took the piece wrapped in silk. A pleased smile was formed on his face when the sovereign apart the fabric of the pendant.

“A job as fine as always, Kefren” he observed it more closely, letting daylight impact on it, ripping some flashes of the thin metal. With an almost imperceptible nod, he turned to show it to his wife. “Look, my sister.”

The queen also rose from her throne and, going down the stairs of white marble with sinuous movements, approached to her husband, brushing with her fingers the pendant.

“It's beautiful, my beloved brother. A necklace worth of a god.”

Khufu nodded, feeling pleased with the words of his wife and sister. With a wave of the hand, he called one of his servants to put the pendant on his chest. It didn’t take too long for the oujdat decorating the fabric of his white linen chest.

“Who is with you this time, Kefren?” asked the pharaoh, looking at the young man for the first time since entering in the room.

“My king, he is my son, Aswad” said quickly forcing a small smile, still in the clouds because of the compliments of the pharaoh. “He is learning to be my successor.”

Queen Meritites seemed delighted with the revelation.

“Oh... one apprentice” Her jocular voice could have passed for sweet and enjoyable if it weren’t for the small tone of disdain that anybody could glimpse. “And is there anything of this little apprentice that we can see of his entire authorship?”

Aswad tried that the nervousness that shook his body from head to toe wasn’t noticed. He wanted to apologize for not bringing anything to show to the queen when she had shown so much interest in his work but, his father beat him, flashing a proud smile.

“Of course, my goddess” said Kefren, taking another package that he had led and which Aswad hadn’t noticed until now. “Here I have a headband in which he has been working”. He handed the piece of jewelry wrapped in silk, as he did with all of his pieces.

Queen Meritites’s eyes widened surprised with a small glow of admiration and delight. She dropped to the ground the silk and raised the diadem, watching it from every possible angle.

“For Isis...” she drown a little moan whispered of surprise with one of her perfectly care hands. “So beauty…” and, as if she didn’t believe, the queen look away from the crown and headed to the man, whom now shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny of both monarchs and the others that were in the room. “Can I know who’s the lady that has inspired such ornament?”

“Lady, my queen?” Aswad spoke for the first time and his voice came out sharp and hit. A cold sweat ran down his spine. He couldn’t say the name of the  _sa_  in the presence of her guardian. At least, not if he wants to have any chance with her.

The queen chuckled and turned his attention to the headset. It was clear that she wish it for her.

“An object made with such detail and care only could have been inspired by a woman. Well,“ she corrected herself ”not just any woman, but only the one. Tell me, who was she? And don’t be afraid to reveal her identity, young apprentice, there will be no retaliation.”

Aswad exchanged glances with his father, seeking for his approval. After replying with a quiet affirmative answer, the young man looked at the queen and said gently:

“She's Netikerti, my queen” he replied. “The…”

“The young  _sa_  of the temple of Hathor. I know her” the queen's smile that had once decorated her face, seemed to freeze before disappearing. She handed back the crown to Aswad and turned to the pharaoh, with a broad smile, this time, a little bit sly. “Isn’t she father and Tey’s daughter, that north concubine?”

“Yes...” replied the pharaoh without looking away from Aswad. It wasn’t the only look that rested on the young man; the royal scribe also watched with curiosity, and he didn’t know if that was good or not. “The same, dear sister.”

Meritites turned to look at the boy; she was about to release the first of her poison darts.

“And does she know your feelings?”

“Yes, my queen” he gestured. He didn’t like the inquisition which he was being submitted. “But she doesn’t correspond.”

This seemed to draw the attention of the pharaoh, who addressed him for the first time since entering the room.

“How can that be?” the penalty tone that he used was loaded with mockery, as it was show in the next question. “Does she have much higher aspirations? Perhaps, does she want a more important position?”

“Enough, sister” the pharaoh stopped her with raising the hand. Aswad was sure they both were enjoying his miserably. “Netikerti has sure her reasons for rejecting him...”

“She wants your approval to proceed” he was forced to confess. He was tired of so much mockery because of his status.

“Aswad!” his father chided him at the impertinence that he had committed. Kefren's eyes widened in fear of the possible consequences of such insolence.

The pharaoh seemed to find it funny, by the laughter that escaped his throat.

“Kefren, I have been considering for so long time the reward for the professional job you always do. Clearly, Path blessed you doubly” Khufu said sliding his gaze to the young man. “I will think on this... unusual and indirect proposition and, when I have my answer, I'll call you.”

“Thanks you very much, my god” said Kefren, breathing with relieve and leaning and, incidentally, grabbing the neck of her son, to make him show some allegiance. “And accept my apologies for the behavior of my son. The blessing of Hathor, who doesn’t allow that the ideas of Thot, flow clearly in that head of him.”

The king dismissed both of them with a wave of his hand and, when they had left the room, he turned to his scribe. The man remained silent, targeting each and every one of the events in the throne room. For her part, Meritites made that the maidens take away the princes, leaving them alone in the room; she, the pharaoh and the scribe. Then the queen turned to Khufu.

“What do you think, dear brother?” she asked, looking at him seriously. Meritites wasn’t liking the behavior of the young sovereign. “Do you think this girl really loves the young apprentice or is she searching for some type of opportunity to move up in the social ladder?”

“You can tell me, because you live with her in the Jeneret house” the serious look of the pharaoh glared her. He turned to the scribe trying to elucidate any reaction that made him see what was on the mind of man. Useless, the man was too good at hiding his feelings.

“I only hope that you're not thinking of taking her as your wife” continued Meritites, offended by being ignored in that manner. “Brother!”

“I said silent, sister. Never, in the history of Egypt, a God has had to pay homage to his wife.”

The queen frowned and crossed her arms, trying to get away of his husband. The king gently stroked her neck, causing the woman to close her eyes enjoying the mime. Khufu smiled.

“Don’t worry. I will take her, as much, as a concubine. That would calm your smokes?” her venomous look made him increase his smile. The jealousy of his queen was too strong. “Ptahotep, is your daughter, what do you think of all this?”

The queen's gaze fell on the scribe, who had remained silent. His shaven head and the clear and simple clothes that wore, with no more ornaments than a large pendant representing Toth, were denoting a quiet and submissive behavior. Ptahotep asked permission to leave the small table that served him as a desk and started collecting his things.

“My god, I know Netikerti and the apprentice from a long time; I can assure you that the veneration that they profess to each other is out of all understanding. However, I don’t think he is the right for her. Maybe after a few years...”

“Then, is your answer negative? Do I should talk to my sister first?”

“No it isn’t, my king, but I don’t think it's the right moment. Although, if you wish to talk first with my daughter, I'll be more than happy to hear what she has to say. In the both cases, the apprentice’s as any other proposition that you want to make to her.”

 

*~*~*

 

It was already dark when a mysterious figure reached the gates of the temple of the goddess Hathor. The strong and confident steps of the stranger alarmed the  _sa_ , who left the incense to peek from behind a pillar. The elegant and bejeweled figure of the pharaoh appeared in her field of vision. Netikerti frowned, puzzle. What was Pharaoh Khufu doing there? Not that he couldn’t be there, of course, he was the owner of all Egypt after all, he could be where he wanted but... the temple of Hathor?

It was normal to see him in the Horus, Ra or Osiris’s temple, even in the Anubis’s. Would he like something from the goddess Hathor? Khufu stood in front of the statue of the goddess, watching her figure and the wooden box that he had deposited at her feet. Was he approached to honor her? Netikerti interrupted her chores to get at the sight of the pharaoh. She remained in silent until her presence was noted.

“Hut-Hor Ast Netikerti” the pharaoh called with deep voice. The young woman came to his presence and made a reverence, keeping her head down until he allows her to get up. “How many years have passed since the last time we talked?” he asked, touching her shoulder for her to raise up her face.

“Ten years, my king” she whispered, adopting a correct posture.

“Ten years... I see that you've grown up doing honor to your name. Tell me, are you happy serving the goddess Hathor?” Jufu walked through the temple, in the central camera of the room, without looking away from the figure of the goddess of love and beauty. An almost inaudible  _yes_  escaped from the lips of the  _sa_. “I cannot hear you.”

“Yes, my king. I keep giving thanks daily to the gods for the opportunity they have given to me.”

They remained in silent for a few seconds, one uncomfortable for the girl and another comfortable for the pharaoh that only increased his ego.

“Your middle name was given in honor of the goddess Ast, if I remember correctly... Would you like to be mother, Netikerti?”

“If the gods so provides, I would be very happy to be blessed with a child.”

Khufu came closer to her, the shadows of the oil lamps lengthening the shadows on his body, and took her chin firmly. Netikerti was suddenly embarrassed by the dark eyes of the pharaoh, whom submitted to an incessant scrutiny, a hard study of her soul, the deeper secrets that she kept.

“I can see why the son of Kefren is so obsessed with you” murmured caressing her cheek with one of his bejeweled fingers. The cold of the rings made her shiver. “Although he isn’t worthy enough to even breathe the same air as you.”

Netikerti felt like her heart was shrinking with strong pangs of something that she couldn’t identify. Sadness? Anger? Contempt? Repulsion? How dare the pharaoh detract Aswad that way by the simply of not born on a silver spoon like him? She blinked and tried to look away, to hide all this feelings from the eyes of the pharaoh, but it was in vain. The parade of feelings in her eyes had been too obvious.

“Pity… “He began, amused. “It seems that you don’t agree with me. Do I have to take it as that you have feelings for him?” He gave a cruel and despicable laugh at such idea. “For a simple apprentice that cannot earn a living for himself?”

The  _sa_  swallowed, and the gesture was so noisy to her ears, that she felt how the blood pooled in her cheeks.

“I’m not saying that your thinking is wrong, my king, but I know Aswad since Dyehuty allows me to remember and I know he's a good man” Jufu remained silent, without releasing or fail to stroke her face. Netikerti summoned all her willpower to continue talking without departing sharply from the man. “It's just a matter of time; I'm sure he will be a great craftsman.”

“So you think that?” he raised an eyebrow and smiled. The pharaoh, twenty years, was attractive in his own way, a powerful and feared man; he was known for his cruelty and for getting everything that he wanted. Netikerti watched like he carried her hand to his lips, gently kissing her fingers. “My dear sister, you shouldn’t think that good of everyone. The young Aswad is too pretentious. Do you know what did he ask me today? My consent to marry you.” Another laugh escaped from his throat and a malicious glint appeared in his pupils. “That simple craftsman wants to marry into the royal family. He is ambitious, too ambitious for my taste.”

The  _sa_  remained in silent. Marry into the royal family? Was this the feeling that the Aswad’s behavior give? No. She knew that the feelings of the young man were true, she doesn’t doubt about his love for her. Why the rest couldn’t see it? Besides, how will he get into the royal family if he married the daughter of a concubine? It was a stupid idea.

“Of course, I haven’t given him a firm answer; I wanted to talk to you before. Your father wasn’t too happy about it, perhaps because he doesn’t considered him good enough for you” Jufu brought his face close to hers; their breath intertwining. She didn’t like the turn that the conversation was taking. “Tell me, dear sister, do you want to marry him? Aswad can offer you nothing; or a house, or a fixed support, not even a security. I, on the contrary, can give you everything you want; wealth, jewelry, clothing, power, your every whim... What do you say?”

She looked away again, seeking for a quiet advice of her beloved goddess. This couldn’t be happening. Was he proposing her to become his mistress, as his mother was? Netikerti let out the air trapped in her lungs as she felt her heart pounding with pain. She’d be a fool if she refused to accept the offer of the pharaoh... but she couldn’t. She just couldn’t betray her principles and her heart. When Khufu asked her if she wanted to be mother, honoring the goddess Ast, and she said yes, the face that had come to her mind was Aswad’s, to her embarrassment, no other.

“My king, I feel very honored by your proposal” a smile of victory appeared in the face of the pharaoh while Netikerti felt like each time it was more and more hard to breathe, “but I just can’t accept.” She let out the trapped air. Every breath was like aspire fire. “I think it’s as you said; I have strongs feelings for Aswad. Feelings that, however as much as I want, I cannot forget them” her voice came out broken, torn.

“Do you reject me?” he asked surprised. It wasn’t for less; nobody in their sane mind would deny the attention of the pharaoh.

“I’m so sorry.”

Khufu squinted before releasing her. Netikerti knew that she had messed up but she couldn’t do anything different. Before, she preferred to remain single and serve Hathor. She tried to catch her breath, that the nervousness that was dominating her doesn’t be notice. The  _sa_  closed her eyes, waiting quietly the punishment; but it never arrived.

“I see...” It was just all that the pharaoh said before turning around. His face was hidden behind the shadows. “I hope you're sure about the decision you have taken, because it will have consequences.”

A lump formed in her throat while a discomfort took possession of her stomach. Netikerti turned and watched as the pharaoh left the temple. Fear gripped her, but despite what you might think, it wasn’t by herself. It was fear for Aswad, for what might happen. Would the king impose him a punishment because of her? She swallowed trying to quit the knot that held her throat. She had to notify Aswad before something bad could happen. Before the retaliations done it was too late. Just as she was going to leave the temple, an almost blinding light caught her eye.

“Eh? What is…?” the question died on the lips of the  _sa_. She went near to the pedestal of Hathor and watched silently, defensive, the wooden box that the pharaoh had brought as an offering. It was shiny, polished wood with a strange symbol on its cover.

It wasn’t rare that the pharaohs made their offerings but, normally, they simply don’t carry objects like this. That box... was...

She held her breath as she raised her hand to stroke the surface, tracing with her fingers the drawing of the cover. It was so beautiful... Netikerti had never seen anything like it. So, it was when she repented of the trick that her brain had played her. An idea, a question began to bother her, feeding her curiosity. What was inside? Will she dare to open it? When she began to serve the goddess, they had been told her by active and passive that never, ever touches the offerings of the gods if she doesn’t want their full fury fall on her... But curiosity was more strong that her.

The  _sa_  slid her hand up to touch the metal clasp. A burning heat went through her entire body, making her to pull the hand away, while a blinding glare vetoed her the sense of sight. It was when the glow stopped bothering that a pair of gold and red nail earrings began to float in front of her eyes, glowing with ghostly light.

Netikerti pulled away, frightened, emitting guttural noises without any sense. What was happening? The earrings continued floating in front of her face and they didn’t seem to going to do anything wrong to her. The  _sa_  reached, trembling, to touch them with her fingertips. The light emanating of the earrings shone again with force, wrapping like a gentle caress, swallowing her in entirety before making the  _sa_ fell heavily to the ground, completely unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Hathor: was a cosmic divinity, nurturing goddess of love, joy, dance and musical arts from Egyptian mythology. Her name means 'The Temple of Horus' or 'the abode of Horus' to identify it as the same mother and sometimes his wife. Her egyptian name is Hor Hut.  
> 2\. Sa: Egyptian word for 'priestess'.  
> 3\. Hetepheres: was the queen of Egypt, wife of Sneferu, pharaohs of the fourth dynasty, besides being mother of Pharaoh Khufu, also known as Cheops/Khêops.  
> 4\. Jeneret House: It was the institution responsible of the education of the princes and princesses of ancient Egypt. Here lived the mother of Pharaoh, the Great Royal Wife, secondary wives and the children of all queens and concubines; it was next to the palace, independent of the actual building and had a great importance. The ladies were educated in many ways, but mostly instructed in music and dance.  
> 5\. Uadyet: lady of the sky that symbolize the burning heat of the sun, the flame of the fire, the strength of growth and fertility of ground and water. Later it was known as the 'Eye of Ra'.  
> 6\. The daughter of a concubine and a pharaoh passed automatically to be a princess of Egypt and, therefore, live in the Jeneret House (belatedly confused with Arab harem).  
> 7\. Marriage was merely a signed paper on which it where established the property of each spouse, but it wasn't a religious ceremony, just and administrative matter. Marriage often began with the simple fact that a couple goes to live together.  
> 8\. Almost always, the priests/priestesses were from the royal family. This did not imply celibacy as we currently see in the priests; it doesn't interfere with marital life with children or with other works.  
> 9\. Work in ancient Egypt used to pass from father to son.  
> 10\. Serket-Heru was the Egyptian goddess of magic, among other subjects. She was despicted with a scorpion on her head,
> 
> If you have any questions, don't worry and ask me :)


	2. The jewel of Maat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When our heroine discover the meaning of the earrings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you a lot for all the readings and the kudos :)  
> You're so sweet!! You give me life!!  
> Also, sorry for the late upload. My dearest beta (luullaby in tumblr) and I are in our university exams :/  
> And... Hope you like it ;)

When Netikerti opened her eyes, she knew that she was no longer in the temple of Hathor. And I wasn’t because she had awakened somewhere else, because she was still inside a temple, that was clear. However, this temple didn’t have anything that it could be recognized by the sa. With a small groan, she sat slightly off the floor and took a hand to the head, massaging hard one of her temples.

It seemed that someone had stuck her a beating; she felt her sore body and like it wasn’t hers. With a sigh, Netikerti finished and looked up, looking all around. Apparently she was in a large and almost diaphanous room, with few columns as support for the large roof, and all of the deepest black. Small white glares were appearing around, between the columns and the roof, making it looks like a beautiful starry sky.

“Have you awakened?”

A deep, mystical and feminine voice echoed through the room, filling the young priestess with nervousness. She turned her head, trying to focus the figure that had spoken and failing in the attempt. There was no one with her. Fear shook her from head to toe.

A long corridor lined with columns with bright drawings depicting the seasons, gradually brightened by the bright flames of the fires that were appearing in the great ceremonial bowls. Netikerti stepped back, scared.

“Don’t have fear” repeated the voice. “You have nothing to fear if you’re fair and honest”. A shiver ran through her body. Sincere? Fair? If all this was a joke, she wasn’t liking too much. “Walk foward, meet with the order”.

Netikerti swallowed. What does “meet with the order” suppose mean? And what was that of that she shouldn’t be afraid? Because fear, to be precise, wasn’t how she felt; fear would be the right word to describe the feeling that grieved her, a grieved that froze her body and prevented to move even one of her eyelashes. But... Did she had any other options? She didn’t know who had spoken, but clearly it was someone powerful. And if she doesn’t obey it... Only the gods know what might happen.

Coward? Maybe. Although she liked much more the term cautious. The _sa_ was progressing slowly, with that might appear all the tranquility of the world, but inside she feels like a constant tingling overwhelmed her. It was like she was walking to her grave. Even her breath came quickly and trembling, shortness. She ran her eyes around for a way to escape but it was so dark that, as much as she tried, she couldn’t discern anything.

Her feet were down in temperature every step she took because of the black marble. Because she wasn’t wearing sandals, she didn’t know where they were but before faint she had them. She was sure of that.

She reached the end of the lit hallway to meet stairs completely polished. She attempt to count them. Impossible. The stairs melted into the darkness of the room so that no one knew if there were going to be another step or the lack of it, making inevitably fall into the deepest abyss. She hoped it was the first.

A mist began to emerge from the shadows covering the stair as Netikerti was ascending.

 _Breath, quiet, nothing happens_ , she repeated to herself as she got deeper and deeper into the unknown. Never, in all her life, she had felt such level of uneasiness. Only when they told her about her mother’s journey to the Duat, leaving her completely alone in this world, was when she felt something similar. The very thought of being alone with her stepfather and his little brother was enough to disturb her.

When the _sa_ set the foot for the first time on the top of the floor, a tremor shook her. A sharp cry escaped of her throat as she ducked and covered herself with her arms, trying to avoid a hit that never came.

“Continue” said again the voice, becoming clearer.

The young woman swallowed and, getting up, continued walking forward. The beating of her heart was strong enough so they could be heard across the room. The sound was killing her.

A radiant glow began to form just in front of her, a spiral of golden sand that grew more and more, until it became what Netikerti thought it was a bird. Well, a bird with human head. What appeared on the wall of the temples known as a _ba_. She couldn’t be in front of one, right? The head of the creature was of a woman, a human woman whose features were the most beautiful that Netikerti had ever seen. And she had seen a lot of beautiful women in her short live, in the Jeneret house, at the temple, in the streets when she escaped with Aswad...

“Hut-Hor Ast Netikerti” the lips of the _ba_ parted letting out the words like a sweet melody. “We were expecting you”. A smile was drawn in the face of the _ba_ before she turned and floated, submerging into the darkness.

She was dreaming. There wasn’t other rational explanation for it. She had fallen asleep with the incensé very close and then the strange dream.

“Hurry up”.

Netikerti started running up to the _ba_ , who didn’t hesitate in taking one direction or another. If she felt before fear and nervousness, now a new feeling made its way with an almost deafening clarity. Curiosity. The same curiosity that had made her open the box.

“Wait!” the demand escaped from her lips almost instantly. “Who are you? Where I am?”

The laugh of the _ba_ rang increasingly remote. She escaped! Before she could reach her, the red feathers of the bird disappeared behind a stone arch, completely opaque, for which nothing was more visible though a blinding glare. The _sa_ ran ever faster, leaving far away the steps and approaching to the shining light that in which the _ba_ disappeared.

Netikerti observed the arch, seriously. Will she cross it? She turned her head and looked at what she had left behind her. She had already come so far, and even when she wanted to give up and go back, she was sure that she would be lost in the immensity of those dark corridors. She had only one option and it was to cross it. She looked at the arch and, summoning all her courage –which she didn’t know where it was-, taked a deep breath and plunged into the portal with her eyes tightly closed.

When the _sa_ opened them again, a little bit painful as she used to the light, she didn’t believe what she saw. There only could be an explanation to explain her presence in that strange place where she was... And no, it wasn’t just a dream. She was dead. It had to be that! Otherwise, why would she be in that room, in all of where she can be?

Her dark blue eyes moved quickly through the room, by the large roofs supported by monumental columns, the same ones that were decorated from head to toe with hieroglyphics and divine scenes of the gods performing some of their tasks. In the room, all the oil lamps illuminated with the torches made of reeds that were hanging from the walls, casting winding shadows that mingled one with another. Finally, and that was what dreaded more Netikerti, a large scale gold remained in the center of the room while a throne crowned all from the top of some steps, right in front of her.

A reddish glow appeared from the corner of her eye, making her turning her head quickly. The _ba_ was smiling at her from the throne, before disappearing and merged with the balance of gold and silver. After bringing her all here, had it the nerve to disappear? Netikerti wanted to scream at her not to go, but she couldn’t find her voice, even when she opened her mouth to utter these words.

“You've taken so long, Netikerti” remarked the same deep and mystical voice of the principle, who had been urging her to continue before the company of the _ba_. “I had to appeal to your mother’s _ba_ to bring you here. I just hope that Anubis doesn’t get too much upset.”

The sa turned to face the owner of that voice, expecting to find an ordinary woman. How wrong she was! Her first reaction was to kneel. And head down. Her second reaction; remain in silent meanwhile paying homage.

The woman in front of her had little of normal. If the _ba_ that she had sent her –Had she said it was her mother?- had seemed to her the most beautiful woman in the world, the woman was much more. Her dark skin shone like the brightest sun and her dark eyes, that were perfectly outlined with kohl, matched with a very long black hair that was decorated with a simple red ribbon, in which grew, royally, an iridescent feather.

She wore a red dress that exposed her breast and her body decorated with bracelets, anklets and a usekh green. Her feet were bare and she didn’t seem to touch the ground. The most surprising of all, were the beautiful wings of brightly colored feathers that grown from her back and extended across the width of her body, straight completely.

“Get up and look at me Netikerti. If you're here, it's not for a whim. We have to discuss a very important issue.”

“I'm dead, right?” she asked, sitting up. The words came out of her throat quickly without thinking about them too much. “I'm dead and going to submit to judgment.

The woman laughed and continued watching her.

“Do you know who I am?”

“Only a fool would not know who you are” she said hastily. No one had taught her how to talk to the gods! “You are the goddess Maat, daughter of Ra, wife of Thoth and protector of truth, justice, morality and balance. With your feather, the hearts of the dead are judged and then it is decide what happens to them; if they reach the afterlife or disappear from the world, for sinners.

“Okey… “ she cried. A tone of tone tinged her words, “it seems that you had just recite all that of memory” Netikerti cheeks stained of a lovely reddish, prey of the shame. “Although, without Anubis, there’s a little I can do to judge the hearts of the dead.

“Are you going to tear my heart when Anubis come?”

“Of course not, girl!” She exclaimed after laughing incredulously. “It isn’t yet your time and we are not savages. Do you know why you're here?

Netikerti shook her head. If she wasn’t there to be judged, because she was not dead as the goddess has assured her or they wouldn’t rip her heart, then she had no idea what was happening. She looked at the goddess and shook her head again, reiterating her ignorance.

“Tell me what you were doing before appearing... here” she said, spreading her hands and pointed to the room where the two were.

The young _sa_ blinked in surprise, as if she didn’t understand the result of all this.

“I was finishing my chores in the temple when the pharaoh appeared and proposed me... well, He made me a proposition that I rejected,” the goddess seemed to show a small smile of pride. “Then... uh...” Netikerti stammered. How could she explain that she had tried to open the box left by the pharaoh as an offering to Hathor, the goddess who she served? She felt the eyes of the goddess Maat scrutinizing her, reading her soul, and she knew that she couldn’t lie. She let the out the air retained in her lungs and continued. “I tried to open by curiosity the box that the pharaoh brought as an offering to Hathor...

“It wasn’t an offering to the goddess Hathor” she said. Netikerti blinked again surprised and remained in silent, thinking about what had happened then. How to explain something that she cannot even fully understand by herself? It will seemed the own delusions of a madman. “And then?”

“After...” the _sa_ sighed deeply. She would be honest; total, she had nothing to lose. “Neither have I understood. It was all very confusing. The box began to glow and it left out a pair of earrings that sparkled even more, and when I closed my eyes because of the light emanating from them... I was just here. I woke up here in this place.

 _And all my body hurt. Well, it is still aching_ , she would love to add, but she refrained herself. The goddess was in silent, watching her, and playing with an ankh, passing it from hand to hand.

“That’s all?” Netikerti nodded. She had told her everything and she hadn’t lied. Well, she had preferred to ignore the proposition of the Pharaoh, but she didn’t think that she was referring to that. Right? “Well, it doesn’t seem that you lie but I don’t quite understand the interest on forget the proposal of the pharaoh. Don’t you want to be his concubine? He will visit your bed and I'm sure he would soon leave you pregnant” the young sa bowed her look. Most of the priests who served in the temple of Hathor, where she was the high priestess, were or had been Pharaoh's concubines. But that wasn’t her destiny. She doesn’t want it. “Who occupies your heart?”

“Aswad...” She whispered before opening the eyes scared and shouts. “Gods, Aswad! I have to go tell him!”

Maat puts the ankh on her shoulder and gave her something like a motherly smile, silencing her instantly.

“Calm down. The pharaoh will not attack him today or tomorrow, at least not physically” commented the goddess as she walked toward the balance. She gestured to Netikerti to following her. “Do you have any idea what can mean the earrings?”

“No ma'am.”

The goddess placed the ankh just below the ears of the _sa_ , who held her breath. She didn’t even know she wore them. Since when she had been wearing them? Maat felt sorry for her and took them off, willing to show her.

“I suppose you believe in magic “the girl nodded. “All right. These earrings contain a strong energy, much older than our magic.”

Netikerti looked down and watched the little gems that rested on the hands of the goddess. The earrings were made of two pieces of gold, circular, one that was introduced into the hole in the lobe of the ear and the other a bit bigger, hanging from the first. The piece that hanging depicting represented a scarab made of carnelian with Maat’s bright wings, carved in gold and painted with red, blue and green glazes. Some details were painted with black enamel, highlighting the contours of the scarab.

They were gorgeous, decent jewels for a queen. The eyes of the _sa_ raised again as the goddess spoke again.

“Beautiful, isn’t them?”

“Yes...” she whispered without leaving her glare of them. “What do you meant by a much more ancient than our magic?”

“Do you know the story of creation?” The young woman nodded. It was hard not to know when she worked in a temple. The stories of the gods had to be know by them like her own, yet her version of the story was somewhat distorted, like most of the stories that were transmitted orally. It would be interesting to know another version. The goddess seemed to read her mind. “Do you want me to tell our version?”

-Please. Maybe then I can managed to understand the situation a little.”

Maat nodded and, moving around the room, showed her a large mural painted on one wall.

“In the beginning of time, Ra, the divine light, the sun that you mortals know, created the two groups of nine laws, called Paut. In addition, he made all the natural laws exist and everything that concurs in the world. When he, my father, who existed long before any notion of space and time and is the oldest of all of us, was intended to present to the world, he pronounced the sacred word beginning the process of creation, with Ra manifested in different ways in the earth. Thus it was like that that he breathed life on earth.

»When the light won over the darkness by the rule over the earth and with his rays bathed the surface for the first time, the first humans were created. But not on the earth you know but one much older, a land in which there wasn’t evil, a land that was called Etelenty” she looked at Netikerti, who came to look more closely at the mural, reaching to pass a hand through the painted surface. “Eight were the humans that were created to live in this mythical land, immortal and matched humans; men with frog heads and woman with cobra heads” she paused and pointed another drawing. It had, as she promised, four couples in big with smaller human figures underneath. “Kek and Keket were the first couple that emerged, the most elderly. Their names mean darkness and their descendants are the people of the south and southwest lands of Egypt. The second couple was Heh and Hehet, born at dawn and their people are known as the people of dawn. Their descendants are the people of the eastern and northeastern lands of Egypt.”

»Nunit Nun and were the third couple, born at noon, and the parents of the people in the northern lands of Egypt, the land beyond the sea. Finally, Ammon and Amaunet formed the fourth pair of immortals, born with the sun, and being the ancestors of our great people” she pointed the figure of a god in the Mural. “Among the descendants of these eight pairs, Thoth, my husband, giving life to the language and the divine word, and predicting, in this way, the unhappy fate of Etelenty,” the goddess shrugged and turned to look at the priestess. “It was an incomplete land, you know? Unstable, that one day it would be submerged under the ocean. It was just a matter of time that for happen. Thoth was aware of this and, for no to lose the creation of Ra, he ordered the migration of these four families to prevent their perished” she gives her a little smile. “Although this was fifty thousand years ago.”

“Fifty thousand years?!” The question came out muffled and sharp, with surprise. She didn’t know that humanity was so old. In fact... It wasn’t what they had told her. The creation of the world was positioning not too long ago, a little before the first dynasty. Fifty thousand years sounded like something incredible and fantastic, but it was she who was talking with the goddess Maat in the courtroom. Nothing was what it seemed. “But...” the phrase died before she could even think about it.

“Don’t freak... yet. There are still many truths that we have to approach” she whispered running a hand by the people of the east and northeastlands. “Heh and Hehet’s people accumulated large amounts of magic around them, magic that was transmitted to the nature deities. According to the beliefs of the people, a wise man was blessed with the ability to act like the gods. It was unthinkable that a mortal had so much power so, to avoid disputes, he divided his powers according to the teachings that he was given,” the goddess went on, changing her tone to one a little more serious. “He took the two opposite and complementary fundamental forces that are in all things and form a perfect balance to be the main protectors” the incredulous and confused look that the young gave her only did the goddess sighed again. “One cannot live without the other and if they do, only would bring chaos. You understand that, right?

“Y-yes...” she said doubtfully.

“Well, for support these protectors, he divided his powers into five more, one for each element of nature. Seven guards, seven mortals who are blessed by the magical powers of the gods, seven objects with own life that changes as times, all in pursuit of protecting humanity to not perish. Have you understood?”

Netikerti remained silent and shook her head.

“No” she was encouraged to answer. “Seven guards? Seven objects? I don’t want to be too naive, but how will life be objects? They cease to be objects per se.”

“Not if they saved the souls or desires of the gods” the young turned her gaze to the drawing on the wall, as if she was trying to decipher the meaning of those words by searching the hidden in hieroglyphs. “Listen, I don’t pretend that you understand everything now; over time you will” she turned to point out the earrings. “The box that the pharaoh leave to the temple of Hathor, is the box in which these objects were saved; box, arriving Egyptian territory, was devoted to Serket as local deity of magic, as the protector of those gems. And each object, was devoted to a particular god, all depending on the features that were taken at the time of its creation.

“»The earrings were in my care; she/he is the chosen for being one of the main protectors. They represent the justice, truth, harmony balance... And now, I choose you for you to wear them.”

“Me?”

“Someone has to stop the pharaoh Khufu, don’t you think so?” Netikerti looked down. Stopping the pharaoh? He was a god on the earth, his word was the law. “The pharaoh will be also judged at the correct time of his death. In front of her, all are equals” the goddess's eyes shone with a gleam of malice that frightened the young _sa_. “So you must not fear, as you did when you fight him. Take them.

The goddess Maat took Netikerti’s hands and put the earrings in them. She smiled while watching the _sa_ watch them with almost worship.

“Time is running out” she murmured at the same time that she touched her again with the ankh. “To access the powers of the earrings, you just have to want it deeply. But, remember” she said, lifting her face by the chin, “use them only when is necessary.

And before Netikerti could say anything else, a light enveloped and carried her back to the temple of Hathor.

 

* * *

 

When Netikerti awoke, she found herself lying on the floor in front of the penetrating gaze of Hathor and with the earrings on the lobes of her ears. Her feet were dressed again by the sandals, which she deeply appreciated and a fact that made her reconsider if everything that has happened wouldn’t have been a dream.

Besides, why would any god might be interested in her? The _sa_ released a disbelieving giggles at such idea. Obviously, no one, excepts Aswad. Speaking of him… Netikerti rose from the ground and, after completing her tasks, she gave her farewell to the goddess and go out of the temple. She never, ever, was supposed to turn her back to the statue if she doesn’t want to be punishment.

Just as she set a foot outside the temple, a deafening scream penetrated her ears, causing her to contract because of the pain.

“Damn!” hiss a female voice, full of bitterness. “Damn all the gods and their dogs!”

The few remaining priestesses that were there, fled scared of the temple grounds. If someone had pricked Netikerti with the tip of a knife, he wouldn’t have taken anything. The stupor in which she had fallen was enough to don’t know how to react. It wasn’t for less. A woman ran down the main courtyard of the temple, avoiding artificial water sources and the vegetation placed to please the gods. If they could call her woman.

“Damn dogs of the gods!” Her voice was getting higher, full of anger and angrily time. “Am I not good enough?! Am I not capable enough?!”

Some venomous yellow eyes with dilated and elongated upward pupils observed the _sa_ for a few seconds before changing her whole posture, leaving her latest victim collapsed on the ground, to head to her.

Netikerti held her breath. Her eyes had to be playing tricks. It must be a joke of bad taste. The woman in front of her has nothing of woman. Hers eyes, the same that had riddled her, had been replaced by a snake’s one; cold and lifeless. Her body was exposed, showing how from the waist down, her legs disappeared into a snake tail. Grayish green scales were covering all her belly and her naked breasts. And her neck... From her neck get out a skin bump like the cobras.

Just what looked like the rests of a gray dress remained around her waist, giving her some humanity.

“You...” she hissed again, suggesting a forked tongue between her teeth. A shiver ran through the body of the girl. “You are the guilty one!”

“G-guilty for what?” Netikerti asked stuttering, not understanding well the situation.

“That my husband has disowned me!” she exclaimed. Her tongue continued stirring between her teeth and the _sa_ noticed the pair of thing and sharp fangs as needles in the top of her mouth. Would they have poison?

The monstrous woman raised a hand toward the priestess, throwing a few snakes against the nearest column. Netikerti moved away, scared because of the snakes and not knowing quite well what to do.

“Don’t hide!” the woman _det_ shouted angrily. Some acute and anguished cries escaped from her throat. “Stand up!”

“But if I haven’t done anything!” replied Netikerti with a trickle of voice, near tears.

The _det_ screamed again and she throws again some snakes, all poisonous. The _sa_ frowned and started running toward the water sources that were in the gardens. Many of these snakes couldn’t get into the water, so it would be safe while she stay there. However, to her sorrow, the _det_ was faster that she and cut her off.

With her body twisting and her dancing tongue out of her mouth, the _det_ gave her a hungry smile and put her yellow eyes on the priestess.

“You're going to pay for all the damage that you have done to me” the woman stretched out her hands to put them on the girl's neck but a golden and blinding light forced her to close her eyes.

‘ _Wish it_ ’ whispered a voice in her head, ‘ _you just have to want it._ ’

Netikerti didn’t understand what the voice was referring to until she felt a cold touch on her neck. The earrings. Could she really get the powers about that had spoken Maat thanks to the earrings? She hoped so. She won’t lose anything by trying, except the time to flee and get away from the monster and avoid her death.

She closed her his eyes and put her hands into her chest, very close to the heart, sending a prayer to the air.

‘ _Please, goddess Maat, give me the ability to help this woman...’_ she muttered quietly, her lips moving as fast as she could. ‘ _Please’_.

Again, a warm red-gold light enveloped her like a mother's embrace. Netikerti felt an energy ran through her entire body, filling it with safety and confidence. She could hear the voices of the goddess Maat, and the voices of other women that she couldn’t identify; then the cries and pleas of an entire people and, finally, their thanks. When the feeling ended, to her displeasure, the _sa_ opened her eyes, feeling like a completely different person. No feeling. She was a different person! She was dressed differently too judging by the light fabric that felt in her body.

The det complained again and, this time, she can open her eyes and watch the young _sa_ after her change.

“Where's the dog of the goddess?” she asked, staring at her.

Netikerti slightly tilted her head in confusion. Seeing as the _det_ was searching so desperately for her, the _sa_ discovered with pleasure and joy that she didn’t recognize her. What gave her some power. She smiled quieter.

“Um... I don’t know but, maybe I can help you” she pressed a hand to the golden usekh, stroking it with her fingers.

“Bring her back. She has to pay for her sins” she demanded.

“I'm sorry. I think it will not be possible” Netikerti let out a little giggle, a fact that surprised her. Since when she was so shameless?

The _det_ seemed going crazy. Her eyes became more sharp and poisonous, and in a blink, she pounced over Netikerti. She could avoid it by one hair, surprised by the act of women and by her own reflections. She jumped back, several meters away.

“But what…?” She didn’t even finish the sentence, incredulous at her new skills. The _det_ hissed again and returned to pounce over the _sa_ , creating with her hands more snakes and throwing them to the priestess. Netikerti let out a little moan, in disgust. “I will have to clean all this mess, you know?”

Not that she was exactly who had to clean, there were other priests under her command who were responsible for those tasks, but if something happened to the statue of the goddess Hathor, they would demand her head on a silver platter to be the responsible.

‘ _You have to find the object that has been corrupted_ ’ whispered the goddess Maat. ‘ _Find it and destroy it. Only then you will able to purify the small entity that owns it_.’

Netikerti sighed. How easy it was to speak. Moreover, what did she meant by the entity that owns it? She stared. All the _det_ had on was that ragged dress; the rest was a naked and metamorphosed body with a snake. Apparently she would have to destroy the dress but, how?

She could almost feel like the goddess cracked a smile.

‘ _Use the mirror_ ’. The mirror…

Hanging from her waist, just above the belt, a small red oval glowed with the moonlight. It had seven black polka dots that were actually tiny black beetles, elegantly painted on the surface. That must be the mirror.

Netikerti took it in her hands without any complication. It was hot and cold at the same time; a pleasant tingling ran through her palms while security had already took hold in her body, not to mention the obtaining of an uncertain knowledge of its operation that possessed the _sa_.

She turned away quickly from the _det_ and watched the best way to strip the dress. It had nothing at hand to get it but... In the temple was a small sickles used by the peasants who worked in the sacred fields. Maybe if she took one of those…

“Don’t leak!” cried the _det_ seeing the _sa_ run toward the interior of the temple. She only needed to find that little sickle faster, before she reached her and could make her pieces.

A new wave of snakes crashed into one of the columns. Netikerti ran faster to get into the small room where they kept all those useful. The room wasn’t inside the temple, since in there could only enter the priests, but in one of the rooms near the large hall where the prayers of visitors attending. The _sa_ took one of the sickles in her hand and looked around the room for anything that might serve her to make it a weapon. She smiled when she found a small ball of braided rope.

You could tie the rope to the sickle and use it remotely.

Pleased with herself at the idea, she wasted no time and focused on completing the "weapon". The noise of the monster body against the floor of the temple body reached her ears chilling her blood. Her breathing was strong and threatening.

Netikerti slipped out of the room before the _det_ goes to search there, hiding just behind one of the columns and waiting for she to pass by.

A little tingling in her leg alarmed the _sa_ , causing that she lowered her gaze. A snake had twisted her ankle and her tongue was waved menacingly. The girl gulped nervously. She had to get rid of the snake before attacking the _det_. And leave it right away, before it bites her.

With the sickle, she was sliding the snake along her leg to remove it by the bare foot. Because, again, she was without her sandals. Netikerti turned away from the serpent, crawling away to fortune of the young _sa_ and hid behind another column, eyes searching her goal.

When she found her, she shook her sickle with rope and threw to the monster’s hip. The metal fell to the ground making a noise so loud enough to alarm the monster. Netikerti rushed to pick it up and throw it back, listening to the sharp tongue of the det. And this time, hooking the sickle in the dress.

“Yes!” she exclaimed victorious before throwing from it and tear it in one piece. The _det_ screamed while Netikerti took the dress and tore in her hands. A small, bright black butterfly flew away, surprising the girl and the _det_ , which fell to the floor in a faint.

The mirror in her waist began to shine when the girl took it in her hands. She brushed her fingers over the surface and is split in two, like the shell of a beetle, before disappearing down the back. A blinding light came from it while a braided rope emerged from one end, much like the hack she had done with the sickle and the rope, but much stronger.

“Let the Ra’s light purify you” she said waving and throwing the mirror against the butterfly before her flight was high enough to be out of reach. The light seemed to engulf the butterfly while the mirror was covered again and went to her hands again with an awesome precision. “It is done!” she sang happy. She again touched the smooth surface of the mirror and opened it again, letting out a small white butterfly. Netikerti watched how it got into the body of faint _det_ , unable to avoid a goodbye in silence.

A growl escaped from the lips of the _det_ , drawing the attention of the _sa_ that observed, undaunted, how the tail of the serpent, the scales and the cold eyes disappeared to re-cover the naked female body with a simple gray dress.

The woman was gradually regaining consciousness, she confused blinking as she looked to Netikerti, who came up to her and smiled.

“W-where am I?”

“Relax” whispered the _sa_ watching the fear in the eyes of the other. “All problems have a solution.”

A little moan drowned from the throat of the woman.

“Go, talk with your husband and ask him to accompany you tomorrow to pray to the gods, to pray for those children that you both desire. The gods bless you if they see that you are righteous” a little shaky smile appeared on the lips of the woman, who accepted the help offered by Netikerti to rise.

“Thanks, _Nebet Kefer_ ” she said giving her a little squeeze hands before leaving.

The priestesses who remained in the gardens and were recovering from the attack, watched open-mouthed the young _sa_.

“ _Nebet Kefer..._ ” they whispered.

Netikerti didn’t understand. _Nebet Kefer_? ‘ _Lady Beetle’_? Did they couldn’t see that it was she, Netikerti, the same priestess with whom they shared tasks? She gave them a small smile before heading to one of the water sources, to contemplated her reflection and understand a little the surprise the others.

What she saws, made her understand the confusion of her companions.

There was no way for anyone to know it was her.

To begin with, she wearing a long smooth and black wig of natural hair like royalty and the most noble –wighs that Netikerti refused to use in her daytime for consider it disrespectful to the goddess Hathor, the goddess of beauty-; full of braids and decorated with gold beads at the ends. A fine golden crown, with a uraeus in the center and a carnelian scarab under it, completed the headdress.  
The usekh of bright golds and reds tones that adorned her neck was just above a short, slightly transparent black coat that covered her shoulders and chest, the same that remained sheltered behind the wide straps of the dress.

The dress she wore was long and straight down to the ankles, with an opening in the left side that only appeared when she made a sudden movement, allowing a perfect mobility. The fabric was dyed and painted in red with small black dots. No... They were not spots. Like everything that came with the dress, they were small representations of scarabs.

A pleated scarf of the same material and color as the coat was around her hips and dress covering up to half of her thighs, adorned with a red belt with a gold trim. The mirror stood right in the middle of the belt, right over the knot.

The jewels were, if it could be, of the most amazing things she ever wore. On her left wrist it shone a gold bracelet with a red scarab. Her ankle was decorated with a composition of gold beads that recreated the shape of the winged disk of Ra. Finally, a bracelet completed the outfit. The surface decoration was an extremely intricate of reliefs and hieroglyphics, whose main character was the colorful representation of Maat and her colorful wings.

Finally, the Maat’s earrings remained regal in harmony with a golden mask, decorated with the eye of Horus under each opening, covering her upper face.

It was she, Netikerti, but at the same time, she had ceased to exist. She was another person, as the image of a goddess. A goddess associated with beetles.

Laughter rang in her ears.

‘ _Ladybugs, no beetles’_ corrected her the goddess Maat.

She wanted to ask what was a ladybug, but she knew she wouldn’t receive any response. The goddess only communicated with her to give occasional advice. Nothing else.

She breathed deeply as she looked at the lake. _Nebet Kefer…_ A strange name to call her, but perfect for her alter ego.

She could get used to.

 

* * *

 

They even had the nerve to speak to his back, but they no longer even cared to keep up the appearances. Total, for what? He was an adult. He wasn’t more a child that you have to be hiding things to but, at that time, they hadn’t too gently.

That’s because he enjoyed so much the night. People were sleeping and nobody could tell him anything. They weren’t looking, nor judged or criticized him. He could do anything he wanted, regardless of the place or time. And the nights were improving at the time he could see Netikerti, to convince her to walked under the stars, ripping some blush or kissing her without explanation.

Although, that would certainly has gone forever. Not even the words of his mother during the meal had thrown a little of hope to his dark thoughts.

“Do you really want me to go and ask for the hand of Netikerti?” She asked as she finished the fish on the stove in the courtyard, where they always cooked.

“It doesn’t matter, the Pharaoh won’t accept it.”

“The pharaoh could say no but Ptahotep is the one who has the last word. He takes into consideration what his daughter decides” Aswad looked at her in disbelief as he stood in the shade. He didn’t like the sun. In addition, how many parents actually asked for the opinion of his daughters for a case such as marriage? “But, listen, Aswad. You have to prove that you are a responsible man, that your intentions are really serious. How are you going to take care of her if you can’t?”

“I can’t” he growled.

“Exact. Now you cannot but, if you give him guarantee that you are going to change, things can go as you wish” the young burst out a bitterly laugh. “What? Don’t you believe me?

“Mother, the matter is not whether I believe you or not. The real problem is that my luck has never been better.

A groan of exasperation escaped from the lips of Djeserit and, after drying her hands on the dress, she turned to face his son.

“Do you still continue with this nonsense? You're not cursed. So, please, stop thinking like the neighbors, Aswad” that wasn’t enough to get better the humor of the boy. “Okey, see and listen carefully. We'll wait for the response of the pharaoh. If it is positive, I will ask the hand of Netikerti to his father. If it is negative, talk it over with Netikerti to know her answer” the green eyes of his son looked her from below with some appeal. As if that were so easily. “You know that a marriage can take place without the need to sign anything. If Netikerti tells you not, the gods not want it; you should leave her alone” there was some warning in her tone, that softened as her continued. “But if she says yes” she smiled; “the solution is easy. Go away to live together.

“The pharaoh will send his soldiers to chase us”.

“The pharaoh has more important things to worry about” his mother said. “And, even so, you could always take a boat to the northern lands, with some trader. But of course, there would be a problem” Aswad looked up, confused. “She would have to give up all her privileges. Do you think she will be able to do it?”

Fury took over the young man that jumped up, offended.

“Of course! Netikerti is the sweetest and selfless person I know! She wouldn’t be with someone for interest!” he cried, upset with his mother for the first time in that conversation. He won’t let anyone doubt about the kindness of his beloved. Djeserit smiled, pleased. “But I could never ask her that...”

His mother sighed while shaking her head.

“My poor child” she said before kissing his forehead and turned to finish the meal.

And there he was, lying in the bed, turning the conversation as he watched the ceiling of the room where he slept. He frowned. He wouldn’t get much sleep although he tried.

He got up, careful to not wake up his parent, sleeping further meters away, and climbed the stairs leading to the roof. Leaving open the hatch for when he wanted to enter, he sat on the floor and watched the panorama. From there he could see the stars and the moon, the whole town and the royal palace.

He smiled. Had Netikerti gone to bed? Was she waiting for his nocturnal visit like every night? Had the pharaoh talked to her? Or Ptahotep? With a sigh, he laid staring at the sky and praying to the gods to throw a bit of luck in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Det: is the egyptian word for cobra. So i decide to call the monster like that.  
> Nebet Kefer: is literally "Lady Beatle". In the Ancient Egypt the ones that bring luck were the scarabs and, since there is not any sign of ladybugs in the empire (i have searched a lot and i didn't find anything so maybe it was an animal that came later to this country. Who knows.) i decide to give her that name.  
> And... I think that anything more.
> 
> Thanks for reading :)  
> And sorry if there are some mistakes. English it's not my mother language. If you want to read the original, go to the spanish version of the fic (you can find it in my profile)


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